Day 62 & 63 Wednesday August 17, 2011--Thursday August 18, 2011

The sun did come out today!!
It's a beautiful day.  Clear and comfortable with lots of sunshine.  Ed decided to put the Kayak in the water and go fishing.  Looks like a beautiful lake to do that in.  I'm heading to town for the usual:  Internet, food shopping and laundry.

Suds & Sizzle

Rangeley has the nicest Laundromat I have ever been in!  A cute little log cabin that this picture doesn't do justice to.  Now it has American flags and pots of flowers on the porch!  Very sweet!  And it's a Tanning Salon if you want to have something to do while your laundry drys!  It's called the Suds & Sizzle!

On Wednesday night we were able to sit down by the water for sunset!  Very nice.  Hopefully, tonight will go as well.

On Thursday, Ed decides to ride his bike into town and meet up at the Library.  Now, it has to be at least 10 miles one way from our campsite to the Library!  Looks like a lot of up hill to me, too.  I wouldn't do it!

I'll spend Thursday afternoon balancing checking account and credit card statements.  Always makes me feel productive when I do that!

Day 60 Monday August 15, 2011 Traveling to Rangeley, Maine

Well, today is moving day.  We are heading to our last Maine Campground--Rangeley Lake State Park Campground--in Rangeley, Maine.
We woke up this morning.  It was raining--lightly, but it was raining!  Now, I'm usually a good sport with the rain.  I'll go food shopping or spend a few hours at the library with electricity, so I don't really mind it too much.  But I am now getting a little sick of it!  It feels like almost 2 weeks of off and on rain.

We went to dinner last night at the Back Lake Tavern set on Back Lake, about three miles from Lake Francis CG.  Nice little place.  The waitress has been there since 1993.  They are open in the winter for snowmobilers.  Tonight, however, there was only one other table of four there.  How can they possible make any money?

Rangeley Lake

We got to talking about where we were from and where we were headed.  She asked if we were going thru Canada to get to Rangeley, Maine.  We told her about how our Streets & Trips travel planner was sending us and she looked very hesitant.  She said that's a logging road.  That section on the map program said it was about 30 miles.  Now we've been on logging roads before, and they're not great but we could survive.  Then she said:  "If the gates are open".  Perhaps that's not a good choice!  We made new plans!

After packing in the rain this morning, we headed back toward Colebrook, NH where we would hang a left to get to Rangeley, Maine.  The program indicated that wasn't much longer then the logging route, so we got to pass thru the Dixville Notch again, which was pretty.  But it's raining.  The whole way.  Then when we got to the campground, it was raining as we set up and didn't stop.  All day.  All night.  It's now noon on Tuesday and even as I sit in the crowded to capacity Library in Rangeley, it is drizzling.  I'm told the sun should be out tomorrow!

Rangeley Library

Day 31 thru 35 Monday July 18-Friday July 22, 2011 Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, Maine

 We spent  4 nights at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, ME.  We arrived with a reservation.  But once we saw the campsite and realized it was kind of little, we were able to change to one of the unreservable sites (# 46) that was more spacious.  We are learning that campsites that are listed as large are not really.  Our site was similar to  Lily Bay in that it was very wooded, nice distance from each other but this one had a little more light shining through.

It seems that all the State Parks in Maine have similar accommodations.  No electricity at the site, water is available to fill up your camper at a main pump, out houses are throughout the campground, with potties and showers in a common location.  There is no charge for the showers.  Mt. Blue has a beach for bathing on a beautiful Lake Webb, a playground for kids  and a boat launch for the kayak.

The town is probably 40 minutes from a Wal Mart Super store for shopping, and 30 minutes to the library and cell service.  Not bad.

During our stay Ed went fishing on his kayak and a really good hike in the mountains--the most challenging so far.

During our time there I read a lot and did my daily pursuit for civilization.  On our last full day on Thursday, we decided to go to the beach about 10 am.  Ed, ever the good scout, made us lunch.  We brought the scrabble game (Ed won) and we planned to spend the day.  It was pretty hot so this was a good idea. 

About 2 o'clock, Ed decided to 'tool around a little' and check out the coves on the lake in the kayak.  Off he went.  True to form, I was expecting him to be gone an hour and his unspoken expectation was to spend the rest of the afternoon on the water.

By 3:15, I finished all the books on my Kindle.  I read his National Geographic.  Then I was bored.  I waited another 15 minutes and could not see Ed anywhere, so I decided to go back to the campsite.  Unfortunately, he took the keys to the car with him.  I made the choice.  Sit and be bored on the beach, or walk back. 

Buddy and I decided to take the hike through the woods to go back to our campsite.  For those of you who REALLY know me, this was no small decision.  In fact at one spilt, I (of course) took the wrong fork so I arrived at a different loop of the campsite making the walk longer then it should have been.  The walk back in the sweltering heat took us 25 minutes.  Buddy almost had to be dragged at one point.  He was done.  I am sure I looked the same way.  But then I saw the showers and knew I was close.  Just like when I (for a VERY short time) tried running, when I saw the finish line ahead I could pick up my pace.  By the time I got back, WE were exhausted.  It took about an hour to stop breathing hard and be back to normal.

After another 45 minutes, Ed shows up. When he arrived, it immediately brought to mind a joke he recently told me:

Who is man's BEST friend--his wife or his dog?  You can prove who it is very easily:  Lock them both in the trunk of your car for two hours.  When you let them out, which one is happy to see you?

Buddy was wagging his tail!  I was not!

Day 31 Monday July 18, 2011 Moving Day to Mt. Blue in Weld, Maine

We're off! While the sky looks threatening, it's warm and muggy. Packing goes well. Lily Park was a nice Campground! Lots for Ed to do. Biking, fishing, Kayacking.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon in the grassy park by the Lake. There's a kids playground, a sandy beach and lots of picnic tables in the shade. We took advantage of one of those primo spots and had a picnic lunch. Ed is a great Boy Scout! We played Scrabble and I won! (That doesn't happen very often.)

If you come to visit Lily Park CG, we would suggest sites 16, 21 and 23. And if you are using a tent, there are LOTS right on the water. Beautiful ones! The only problem with our site was that it dark and no water views. Nice enough but could have been better.

It looks like about a 3 hour ride today to Mt. Blue. We travel on Rts 15, 16 201, 234. All the roads are 2 lane (one each way) up and down hills,  are in pretty good condition, have great views and NO traffic! Our kind of travel. Very pretty ride.

Friday night July 15, 2011 Concert on the Green

What a neat idea!  Why didn't we think of doing this before!?

While in town getting my Internet fix, I saw the sign at the Village Green (next to Moosehead Marine Museum) announcing a Concert at the Town Gazebo starting at 7 pm.  I went back to see if Ed wanted to go.  He said he was game so we finished dinner early and headed to town.

What a perfect location!  Right on the edge of the Moosehead Lake overlooking beautiful mountains.  Weather is a perfect temperature!  There are about 100 people here.   All ages.  Old, young and families.  The music tonight is Blue Grass from the Back Porch Bluegrass group.  They played for 2 hours!  It was fun.  Buddy even met a Black Lab puppy that he really liked!

That got me to wondering:  How many of you go to Band Concerts in your town during the summer?  I know Eastham has them. 

How about it:  Linda & Keith, Kathy, Kmeaghan, Pam, Bonnie, Peg?  Do any of you go?  I know the boys would love it!

How about in Franklin:  Nicki & Steve, Chuck?  Have any of you gone?

What about Holliston?  Janet, Eddie.  Do you go?

Post me a comment.  I would love to hear if you like the summertime concerts in your area.

Day 26--29 Tuesday July 12-Friday July 15 Lily Bay State Park, Maine

Tuesday July 12 is Moving Day!  We are off to Lily Bay State Park

Oh, no. We wake up to rain. While that would normally be my trigger to snuggle under the covers, we couldn't do that today. It's moving day and we have a long ride ahead of us.

By the time we got dressed and put away the inside stuff, the rain stopped. That's the good news!  The bad news is that the mosquitoes came out! They weren't terribly bad here all week but they must have wanted a good lunch before we left them.

We got on the road about 10 am or so. Our trip planner says it will be a little less the 5 hours of travel today. How can we go from one part of Maine to the other and still have it take 5 hours!!!? At least the ride is on nice roads. No major highways with super traffic. It's all on 2 lane, well paved roads thru lots of interesting little towns: Meddybemps, Holden, Herman, Corinna, Sangerville, Greenville. Then we see THE LAKE in front of us. Moosehead lake is HUGH!

With lunch and gas brake it was about 4 pm when we arrived at Lily Park SP. It's our first time here and we don't know what to expect. We are at site 19. Decent size. Lots of trees, but it seems a little dark...and there is no water view. Bummer.

Lily Lake view (not our picture!)

It is REALLY hot (and humid) as we set up. And its late and we are tired of driving. I think this is one of our longest drives this summer. I'm glad. I'm not a very good traveler:) We are able to B.I.T.C.H by 5 pm. I'm not at all hungry so we just veg for awhile. Then I start taking out more things to get settled while Ed walks Buddy around the campground. He comes back very excited. He insists I walk thru the woods. He says it's only a 100 feet or so. I reluctantly go and was rewarded. There is a very small stony beach looking west over the mountains at the end of the water--a little cove of Moosehead Lake. This could work as a sunset spot. OK now we don't feel so bad. And the birds! It's like being in a bird cage with all the singing going on.

On Wednesday, Ed takes Buddy for about a 4 mile walk..he says not really a hike. Buddy was thrilled to go. His heart is very willing despite having a body that is failing. But he comes back and is really pooped! We head down to our beach. There's a mama duck and 6 of her babies paddling by us. They don't even care that Buddy is there! And Buddy doesn't even smell them. He's out cold!

Weather on Wednesday, Thur and Friday is beautiful: sunny and warm. And then it clouds a little, drops come and they leave. My kind of rain.

Thursday night we went out for a sunset drive looking for Moose! We go north beyond where our camp site is. Not many cars up here. A few others are Moose hunting, but not many. We watch the full moon come up in the East over a pond that Ed thinks looks good for fishing on another day. On the way home, we see 1 moose, kind of in the woods --we found it since 3 or 4 other cars are pulled over--and 1 deer right in our campground.

The little town of Greenville is where I go for food shopping, laundry and Library for Internet. It's only about 15 minutes away which beats some of the other spots we have been in this summer! The Shaw Library is REALLY tiny. Every time I'm there it's standing room only for the Wireless users of the Internet. Their hours are short and the connection is really poor when they are closed and you have to connect from outside. But at least it's here:)

Shaw Library

Day 24 & 25 Sunday July 10 Boring Laundry day and Monday July 11, 2011 Great day at Quoddy Light House in Lubec, ME

Sunday July 10, 2011:
I get to the town of Machias one more time to do our Laundry (and get e-mail!).  It's really just our sheets that HAVE to be washed once a week.  We seem to have the right amount of underwear and clothes to survive longer.  I just use it as my excuse:)



West Quoddy Lighthouse

Monday July 11, 2011:
Today is our last day in the Cobscook Bay area. The weather is sunny, somewhat warm, with a few clouds. We decide to go visit the West Quoddy Light House in Lubec. I go into Lubec almost every day but we have never taken the detour to visit the Light House.

By the time we got there, fog had rolled in pretty thick. Looks like Ed won't be able to get many good pictures today. The fog horn was blowing every 20 seconds. It reminded me of the bell we had in Cape Cod Bay up until about 15 years ago. How I miss the sound of that bell!  It was melancholy and comforting at the same time! I wonder if it could be brought back?  What if I established a non profit and rallied the Eastham residents?  Do you think I could do it?

After our trip to the Light House, we headed to the center of town for e-mail and recharging of all things electrical . Ed took Buddy for a walk around town. When I finished, I met up with them and we walked the main street. It actually looked a little better then last time we were here a few years ago. Many of the buildings are still deserted, but some of them are being fixed up.

We stopped at Cohill's Inn for lunch on their new 2nd floor outside deck. (I'm having trouble getting more then one picture onto my Blog posting which is why I am adding links for you to click and see what I see!--Chris G.--What am I doing wrong???)  Cohill's sits at the end of the street facing over the pier. Good views of the water. This place has been here quite awhile. Even thru all the depressed times, it's always open. The upstairs deck is new this summer, though. Good choice.   Views are great and there's only one other patron plus the bartender. I had another Lobster Roll. (this ranks 2nd). The female patron up there was from Plymouth. She has a second home here in Lubec---the bank right accross from the restaurant! How cool is that to live in a Bank?! Her brother had a place up here on the main street so when the bank came up for sale, she decided to redecorate it into her home. She's converting the vault in the basement into her wine cellar!

The Bartender was a hoot!  He looked like Lance Armstrong--about that age and build--but said he was 'just Glen'. Glen doesn't have a home. He kayaked up the East Coast from Key West Florida. Since his equipment needed some repairs, he decided to stay in Lubec for the summer and earn some money! His blog can be found here.  In his background info, he says he is living the "journey of Spiritual discovery and Life Simplification, through writing, speaking and photographing my adventures."  He's a very cool and interesting guy!

Great way to end this leg of our journey! 

We are off the  Moosehead Lake area!  God's country.